TECNO and Angélica Dass Highlight Stories of Solo Motherhood Through the Philippine Portrait Gallery for “100 Portraits of Becoming”

The gallery brings together 20 Filipinos whose lives intersect with solo motherhood, revealing the diverse roles, relationships and ambitions that extend far beyond a single label.

TECNO, in collaboration with internationally recognized artist Angélica Dass, has officially introduced the Philippine edition of 100 Portraits of Becoming. The gallery features 20 individuals, each sharing their own inspiring stories and portraits, now accessible through TECNO’s global story archive. The two-year documentary project spans five countries and uses TECNO’s Universal Tone imaging technology to capture diverse human experiences. The Philippines serves as the initiative’s second stop, following its successful debut in Kenya.

Under the theme “See Beyond Labels,” Angélica Dass captured the stories of 20 individuals in Manila whose experiences are connected to solo motherhood in different ways. The gallery highlights the people behind societal labels, recognizing that each person has multiple roles, meaningful relationships, and personal aspirations. It reinforces the message that no one should be judged or defined by a single label or title, including being a “solo mom.”

This creative direction is rooted in the realities of Filipino family life. According to publicly available data, the country has an estimated 14 to 15 million solo parents, with women accounting for about 95% of them. An estimated 2.19 million Filipinos worked overseas in 2024, with women making up 57.2% of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW). Behind these figures are individual lives that are far more layered. This is the space the Philippines chapter sets out to explore.

Captured on the CAMON Slim 5G with TECNO Universal Tone, the Philippines chapter of 100 Portraits of Becoming naturally connects with CAMON Slim 5G’s “Make It Lighter” philosophy, using technology to make expressive photography feel more accessible, intuitive and open to more people.

The Stories Behind the Portraits of 20 People

Through their portraits, that broader context becomes personal, revealing very different experiences of work, family, care and becoming.

Some stories come from working solo mothers themselves. Others are told through the perspectives of adults raised by solo mothers, multi-generation families, Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) caregivers, and media or community advocates who work closely with women and families. These diverse narratives highlight a pervasive challenge: the social tendency to let a single label define an individual’s entire life and capability.

To challenge these stereotypes, their discussions addressed core questions surrounding work, family, and identity – How does motherhood intersect with professional ambition? How do grown children raised in solo-parent families reflect on their upbringing? And what structural support, choices and personal wisdom help families navigate everyday life?

Ultimately, these stories reveal a richer, more nuanced picture of modern family life of solo mothers and women in general: women building fulfilling careers while raising children, multi-generational networks sharing caregiving responsibilities, adults drawing strength from the mothers who raised them, and individuals continuously pursuing their own ambitions.

Portraits of 20 people connected to solo motherhood from the Philippines chapter now are joining the global 100 Portraits of Becoming on TECNO’s official website, where their images and stories can be explored together.

Her Many Ways of Becoming

Among the 20 participants is Ely Haig, a solo working mother, breadwinner, advertising professional and competitive amateur padel player.

Ely became a mother just as her career was taking off. For a time, she stepped back from opportunities and focused on taking care of everyone around her. Later, she found a different kind of diskarte: knowing what matters to her, then finding ways to make room for her career, her daughter, side projects and padel.

“Being a good mother shouldn’t mean leaving yourself behind,” said Ely. “I want people to see more than a solo mom. A mother, yes, but also a creative, a career woman, an athlete, still becoming.”

Twinkle Dimayuga Zamora raised two children as a solo mother before turning her own experience into community support. She later founded MAMA, Mothers Advocating through Ministry and Action, an initiative supporting solo mothers and their children. Her diskarte is simple: ask for help, communicate openly and build a village. “Sometimes the strongest thing a mother can do is say, ‘I need help,’” she said.

Eunice N. Angeles, a fourth-year nursing student, was raised by a solo mother who later became an OFW in Qatar. Growing up, she watched her mother keep finding opportunities and making difficult choices to create a better future for them both. That confidence became something Eunice feels she inherited. “I want people to see what I grew up with: confidence, determination and the courage to find my own way.”

These stories reflect different expressions of their own diskarte: the wisdom, resourcefulness and choices women draw on to navigate life in their own way. More stories from the 20 portraits can be explored in the Philippines gallery of 100 Portraits of Becoming, part of TECNO’s global story archive.

An Opportunity to See Behind the Portraits

For Angélica Dass, the Philippines chapter is an opportunity to move from a shared social context to the individual lives within it. Across the 20 portraits, she encountered different ambitions, relationships, personalities and ways of navigating everyday life.

“What stayed with me was the realization that ‘solo motherhood’ is only one part of a person’s identity. Through the stories shared with me and the moments we created during the portrait sessions, I was reminded that behind every label there is a person with their own ambitions, relationships, choices, and dreams. No single label can tell us everything about who someone is.”

To ground these stories in authenticity, the portraits were photographed on location across Manila in environments directly tied to each participant’s daily life—whether a workplace, a family home, or a familiar community space.

The creative approach echoes the campaign’s core philosophy: leaving space to portray work, ambition, relationships, humour and daily routines — the rich parts of everyday life that extend far beyond a single role or a single label.

From Kenya to the Philippines, and Beyond

All portraits in the Philippines were photographed by Angélica Dass using the TECNO CAMON Slim 5G, supported by TECNO Universal Tone technology.

TECNO Universal Tone was developed to more accurately represent a broad spectrum of human skin tones in mobile photography. Within 100 Portraits of Becoming, that capability supports a wider idea at the heart of the project: seeing people as they are, with greater accuracy and attention to individuality.

“What moved us about the Philippines chapter was seeing how naturally motherhood, work, ambition and personal identity can coexist in the same life,” said Jack Guo, General Manager of TECNO. “We hope technology can play a small part in helping people be seen more fully, and their stories better understood.”

The Philippines serves as the second destination of 100 Portraits of Becoming, following the project’s debut in Kenya in July 2026. Over its two-year run, the initiative aims to feature 100 portraits from different countries, creating a growing collection of personal stories, experiences, and possibilities.

While the Kenyan chapter highlighted how individuals move beyond expectations shaped by their backgrounds and perceptions of the future, the Philippine edition focuses on family, identity, and the different roles people take on. It seeks to look past initial impressions and labels to recognize each person’s individuality, relationships, and ongoing journey of self-discovery.

With the Philippines now part of the growing collection, the project will continue to introduce more portraits, stories, and perspectives on what it means to become, with additional countries set to be featured in the coming months.

For media inquiries, interested parties may reach out to [email protected]. For more information, please visit TECNO’s official site: www.tecno-mobile.com. And to learn more, please visit: https://www.tecno-mobile.com/100portraitsofbecoming/.